SugoiCon FAQ: For Congoers answered by Congoers!

[Kadabra]

I have some things to add as well.

- If you ask someone for their picture and they decline, try not to get offended. Most cosplayers love to have their picture taken, but there is a chance you may have caught them at a bad time (they could be late for a panel/photoshoot/etc, sick, hungry, tired, upset, on the way to the bathroom, their costume needs repair, having to deal with some other kind of emergency, and the list goes on). One of the worst times to ask someone for a picture is while they are eating.

- If you're cosplaying, it's always good to practice a few poses. It makes pictures more interesting when you try to capture the essence of the character.

- Cosplaying an evil character does not give you the right to act like a jerk at the con.

- Don't be rude to the people who are participating in karaoke. You might not like the way someone sings, but it takes a lot of courage to get up and sing in front of everyone.


Masquerade Advice:
In case any first-timers want to enter

- If you decide to enter the masquerade and don't win an award, don't be a sore loser. Don't start drama saying "___ cheated because he/she is friends with the judges", or anything else like that, especially on the forums. You will make yourself look bad.

- If you bought your cosplay off of ebay/some other cosplay website, do NOT try to enter the craftsmanship division of the masquerade. It is wrong to take credit for someone else's work, and it's unfair to other cosplayers who made their entire cosplay themselves. It will give you a bad reputation. ((Keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with buying your cosplays online if you're just cosplaying for fun, but don't take credit if you didn't make it))

- Try to avoid adding inside jokes between you and your friends in a skit. You and your friends might think the joke is hilarious, but the audience might not understand it.

Practice your skit as much as possible!:
- If you are using pre-recorded audio, practice mouthing the words with the audio.
- Another tip if you use pre-recorded audio: practice your entire skit without it as well. This is a very good idea in case you lose your CD with the pre-recorded audio or if it's not working.
- If you don't use pre-recorded audio, speak loudly and clearly so everyone (or at least almost everyone) can hear and understand you.
- Practice in front of a small audience (family, friends, etc). Ask them to let you know if they can't hear/understand you, or if your body isn't facing them enough.
- Once you've rehearsed your skit in front of the judges, don't change anything in the skit. The judges expect that exact same skit you rehearsed to be performed in the masquerade, and if you change anything, you could be disqualified.

- If you're not doing a skit, but are entering the craftsmanship division, practice your walk-on a few times. People will want to take pictures, so don't walk too fast, and strike a few poses on stage. But you don't want to take too long to go across the stage either.

[LordoftheMachine]

One thing I'd like to plug in is about body paint. Last year I was dressed as Old Gregg and I was asked for so many hugs. Of course it wasn't a problem, but if you are covered in full body paint, remember to warn people! Especially if they are wearing white. Every time I hugged someone, I gave them a friendly warning that I was going to give them a lose hug so i didn't get them dirty- not because I was grossed out by giving someone a hug. If someone does ask for a huge and you're worried you'll get makeup or something on them, be nice and explain.: )

[RavenTifa]

On the point about body paint, body paint's safe, but take it from personal experience people...DON'T use the spray on hair color. That stuff is far more messy than it's worth to have your hair be the color of the character if you don't have a wig and didn't want to dye your hair. Go with the wig. I used spray on hair color before and the thing is when your hair gets remotely damp period the stuff runs out of your hair and onto your costume thus staining or dying it. Or it gets on your skin which makes you look just plain odd to have streaks of pink or blue or green on your skin that aren't supposed to be there.

[codi]

Alright, so I read through this all really carefully, and have some constructive criticism to add to this. I know this thread is meant to help out, but there are many mistakes and naive modes of thought here.
Also, spelling errors. I'd love to spell check this.

Way too many cosplay tips. Sugoicon has a variety of cosplay panels dedicated to cosplay how-tos, so promote those. More often than not, most people *don't* cosplay, make that it's own thread, in the cosplay forum. The subject should be Sugoicon, not everything.

The point about lines is kind of absurd. Lines are not hours wait, nor are they hideously long, or confusing. That just scares people. Staffers are here to help for a reason. Also, check the map. That thing in the Program Guide most people don't look for at all. If you're waiting more than an hour for pre-reg or reg, either something is wrong or one is doing something wrong. Reg at Sugoicon is extremely efficient. That is to say however, always pre-reg. It helps everyone out.

Stay at the con's hotel because it helps the con out, not because Super 8 is sleezy. I've stayed in very nice Super 8, no reason to slander a hotel.

As for alcohol, Kentucky law says I am fit to do as I please so long as I do not harm others for cause of public intoxication. And as long as I do not carry an open container outside and into my car, or into the hands of minors, I am free to carry it around the hotel. I am welcome to have alcohol, so don't sugarcoat that, or have your own personal experience make you say otherwise.

As for costume tips, make sure you cover yourself not because you want to scar children, but because you could be arrested for public indencency.

Your guide means well and is well thought-out, but is a little narrowminded.

[RavenTifa]

Ok so it was a bit of narrow minded to say it for costumes, but as for most people not cosplaying...that's a relative statement to me from what I've seen. I rarely see a majority of people in everyday clothes, usually they're at least dressed up in some way or another even if it's not as an actual character. But either way the thing still stands. Make sure whatever it is your wearing covers up what needs to be covered up.

About the alcohol comment I'd have to say I agree with the original about limiting where you drink alcohol. Sure Kentucky doesn't ban it, but don't go walking around with a bottle of alcohol especially if you're already drunk. If someone puts the bottle down anywhere and looks away even for a second it COULD be taken by someone who is in fact a minor and then well both people would be in trouble. PLUS, I've heard I don't know how many stories from con staff and friends about people being drunk causing major problems, most of them being harassment half the time to minors. So yes, I would say limit drinking to your room or at the bar at the hotel.

As for thing about line length being absurd. I've seen the lines be over an hour or 2 long before and it wasn't cause of problems it was cause of mass of people in them. I've seen the lines get mixed up as well. And yes the staffers are AMAZING at this con, but if there's a necessary last minute change in plans or location of some panel or program or another, some of them may only know as much as anyone waiting in line at the moment, they can't know everything 24/7. Reason I'm saying that is I heard some people bad mouthing con staff when two event locations got switched to the other events spot and some of the staff got lost in the notification trail. Everyone's human, they're ALLOWED to make mistakes and / or not know all the information.

That's really all I have to say on the matter.

[RavenTifa]

One other thing I have to mention to congoers though.... Don't grab other peoples' items, plushies, and/or props or expensive purchases without their knowledge. And even if they do let you handle the item.... don't do something that could break it. I've seen multiple people have their purchases and props get damaged or destroyed in some form or another cause they weren't handled with care and some were even thrown against the walls or slammed against the floor. Or used in a tug of war of plushie animals.

[Falkentyne]

Stay at the con's hotel because it helps the con out, not because Super 8 is sleezy. I've stayed in very nice Super 8, no reason to slander a hotel.

OK, I concede that I should have used a more positive light in recommending staying at the Drawbridge. and supporting the convention is an excellent reason that I missed in my point. However, my statement about the Super 8 is not slander, but my own observations from staying there last year. There may be some excellent Super 8s, there may even be great rooms at that Super 8 - but the one I got was unimpressive. (And technically written defamation is libel, not slander, but your point is made.)

[Ookami Yokai]

One other thing I have to mention to congoers though.... Don't grab other peoples' items, plushies, and/or props or expensive purchases without their knowledge. And even if they do let you handle the item.... don't do something that could break it. I've seen multiple people have their purchases and props get damaged or destroyed in some form or another cause they weren't handled with care and some were even thrown against the walls or slammed against the floor. Or used in a tug of war of plushie animals.

Great point!
To build onto this:
If you see a bag, item, prop or accessory etc. laying about in the halls or in panels/noise room. Please take it to a staff member or con-ops asap! After every con, there is always a forum thread for lost and found items and the post count is staggering. Please, do the right thing <3

[EzmierTheSwiftAxel]

I'd like to add:
Security is your best friend. If you have any problems at a con, don't be afraid to talk to con ops or a security personnel. They are here to make your con safe and fun and can help you in cases of theft or harassment [I've had more theft's then I'd like at cons, some off of my person. I also know people that have been harassed.]

[MadMonkD]

So far the questions and the answers seem very good, but Id like to add a few other things;

Security:
As Axel pointed out, Security is there, as she explains it, is to make sure everyone is safe and having a good time. If you see something that should be brought to the attention of the staff, let the staff or security know immediately. Do NOT wait 3 days after to post it in the forums or on your blog. Mentioning it after the fact does not help with the situation or issue that occurred. Security cant magically bend the time and space continium (and the fact that security does not have either a DeLorean with the Time Machine option or a TARDIS ) and go back in time to fix the issue.

And yes if you see any stray items (Cell phones, Plushies, purses, hats, scarves, book bags or other items) please give them to a staff member so it can be put in with the lost and found items.

Hotel:
If you can, please stay at the hotel where the convention is being hosted. It helps with defraying costs for the con and ensures that you are near where all that is happening convention wise is within a few minutes.

Cosplay:
Please understand that many of the cosplayers spend a lot of time on their outfits and many have poured their heart and soul into these outfits. Be respectful and abide by their wishes when you ask either to glomp (hug) or to take their pictures.

Karaoke:
As it was mentioned earlier, Be nice to the people partaking in Karaoke. It does take a lot of courage for a lot of people to step up to the mic and sing along with their favorite tune.

Hygiene and Health:
Remember this number; 521,
5 hours of restful sleep, 2 meals a day, one shower a day.

The 5 hours of sleep, they help especially when you are running around going from one panel to another and to be fairly conscious the next day so you wont be depending on Red Bull or Monster to go through the day.

2 Meals a day:
Pocky and Ramune do not make a meal. A snack? Maybe. Ramen is better, but not by a lot. Do not depend on these solely to fuel your body during the whole convention. There is a restaurant in the hotel that for a moderate price will give you a good meal to last you a while. Also the hotel now has for a small fee, frozen dinners and a microwave at the opposite side of the front desk. If the hotel food is not your fancy, there is a Dairy Queen within walking distance from the hotel. If not on the other side of the Highway, there is a McDonalds, a Burger King, Arby's, Subway, Chipotle, and a Goldstar Chili.

1 shower a day:
This one I cannot stress enough. All the excitement can lead people to forget about simple things, like practicing basic hygiene. Sometimes deodorant is not enough. Bathing is important, people will be in lines and walking through crowded hallways, which means close proximity to other people. Bathe and everyone will be thankful.